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NHL Draft - ProspectsDiscuss hockey prospects from all over the world and the NHL Draft.

LW Artturi Lehkonen - Frölunda, SHL (2013, 55th overall, Montreal)

I saw around 10 games from him last season. Here are some impressions that I got:

+ Very eager to score goals. Always looking for open space to shoot and likes to shoot quickly when he gets the puck. Has a goal scorer's mentality.
+ Very hard-working player.
+ Doesn't shy from contact despite his size. If he gets knocked down, he's back up in half a second and ready to fight for the puck again. Really looks like a fearless player.

- Size, but that's natural when you enter the league at 16. I think he's listed at 5'10 and 152 pounds(!), so he has a lot of muscle to build up. But it's probably better to wait a bit and develop strength a bit later so you don't lose mobility.

I saw around 10 games from him last season. Here are some impressions that I got:

+ Very eager to score goals. Always looking for open space to shoot and likes to shoot quickly when he gets the puck. Has a goal scorer's mentality.
+ Very hard-working player.
+ Doesn't shy from contact despite his size. If he gets knocked down, he's back up in half a second and ready to fight for the puck again. Really looks like a fearless player.

- Size, but that's natural when you enter the league at 16. I think he's listed at 5'10 and 152 pounds(!), so he has a lot of muscle to build up. But it's probably better to wait a bit and develop strength a bit later so you don't lose mobility.

I don't really remember his playmaking abilities.

True, he can add muscle later, that is still something he will need to do. I know other people had difference preferences, but for me, I would be scared silly using a first round pick of a small AND weak player. Obviously, some other posters really like his skillset, but for me, those lack of physical traits scare me.

True, he can add muscle later, that is still something he will need to do. I know other people had difference preferences, but for me, I would be scared silly using a first round pick of a small AND weak player. Obviously, some other posters really like his skillset, but for me, those lack of physical traits scare me.

People probably thought the same thing about Tyler Ennis back in 2008. And he's still small and weak ( listed at 5'9" 157lbs on NHL.com). Didn't stop him form being successful. If the skill set and the work ethic is there, size doesn't matter that much.

True, he can add muscle later, that is still something he will need to do. I know other people had difference preferences, but for me, I would be scared silly using a first round pick of a small AND weak player. Obviously, some other posters really like his skillset, but for me, those lack of physical traits scare me.

Lehkonen´s father is a former Sm-liiga coach and he has strong opinions regarding weight training especially for the younger players and it seems pretty obvious that Artturi is training with his fathers methods. It basically means that there is no sense in bulking up 5-7 kilos during the summer, because your mobility and the endurance of the muscle suffers from it. Its better to improve your muscle strenght bit by bit and keep your body healthy.

So the way I see it, Artturi Lehkonen has much more room to grow physical-wise, which is a positive thing. And it isnt like he is weak or anything, he seems very well balanced player already. He would not score at this pace otherwise.

And Lehkonen doesn't lack physicality at all. He is pretty small guy on the ice but he likes to play the body. He has already laid a couple of huge hits in SM-liiga. His style of play reminds me a little bit of Taylor Hall. He is fearless player on the ice.

And Lehkonen doesn't lack physicality at all. He is pretty small guy on the ice but he likes to play the body. He has already laid a couple of huge hits in SM-liiga. His style of play reminds me a little bit of Taylor Hall. He is fearless player on the ice.

Quote:

Originally Posted by thomast

I stated it before that his style reminds me from european version of Zach Parise. Same style but Lehkonen isn't as heavily north and south player than Zach is.

i have to say i'm floored by Burakowsky still 4 spots higher than Lindholm.

Also weird they dropped Nichushkin by 10 spots or something after he enjoyed a good start to the season (i guess they misplaced him in the first place).

Trying to stay in topic.. Lehkonen has looked to me like a different player from the one i saw back at the U18. Not sure if he wasn't 100% at the U18 (i know he had very good numbers, i'm talking about his overall game), or it's just a case of a prospect taking that huge step forward in a matter of a few months.

Trying to stay in topic.. Lehkonen has looked to me like a different player from the one i saw back at the U18. Not sure if he wasn't 100% at the U18 (i know he had very good numbers, i'm talking about his overall game), or it's just a case of a prospect taking that huge step forward in a matter of a few months.

Lehkonen has developed physically a bit later than some of the other Finns in this draft class, so there was still room for a fairly notable improvement. I also think that some of the things he’s good at are clearly advantageous no matter what the level of play is, this has made it easier for him to adapt to higher level of play. He’s not the flashiest or the strongest player, but nonetheless quite effective.

For me personally ranking him at 12 seems a bit high, but then again I don’t have a good overview of this draft class, so perhaps there’s a clear drop off after the top guys.